TEXAS: Five-Times Married GOP State Rep Files Complaint Against Wrong Judge

From an op-ed in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

State Rep. Tony Tinderholt of Arlington is a soldier, not a lawyer. For proof, look no further than his scrawled complaint against a state district judge. Tinderholt, a retired Army major elected by Tea Party voters, didn’t like the judge letting two women get married after 30 years. Only one couple got married, right after a different judge in a Travis County probate court threw out Texas’ ban on same-sex marriage. Tinderholt wrote out a two-paragraph complaint to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Then his staff called reporters. But Tinderholt’s publicity ploy had problems: First, he complained about the wrong judge and case. Then, he applied the law the wrong way in his complaint. Had he managed to apply the law the right way to the right judge, he still would have come out wrong. Tinderholt, 44 and in his fifth marriage, said in a published statement that he wants a judicial system that “respects the laws” and separation of powers, as if judges shouldn’t declare the Texas Legislature’s laws unconstitutional without prior permission from the Legislature.

It was Probate Judge Guy Herman who ruled the Texas ban to be unconstitutional and state District Judge David Wahlberg who ordered the Travis County Clerk to issue a license. But tell that to Texas Values:

State Rep. Tony Tinderholt has filed a judicial conduct complaint against state District Judge David Wahlberg with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. The complaint alleges that Judge Wahlberg violated Texas law by not giving the Texas Attorney General’s office notice that a constitutional provision of Texas marriage law was being challenged in court, a state law requirement under the Texas Government Code, Chapter 402. This illegal maneuver allowed the Judge Wahlberg to rule quickly without the State being present to defend the law, exactly the reason for the state law procedure, to prevent such unethical tactics. Last week, Judge Wahlberg then ordered the Travis County Clerk to issue a marriage license to the lesbian couple, in violation of Texas law, and also waived the normal 72 hour waiting period requirement before a marriage can occur after a license is obtained.

The above-linked op-ed points out that Judge Herman did notify Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton back in January. Paxton declined to get involved in the case. Tinderholt's current wife is a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.

TEXAS: AG Asks State Supreme Court To Invalidate Travis County Marriage

Via the Austin Statesman:

Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday asked the Texas Supreme Court to confirm that the marriage license issued to an Austin same-sex couple a day earlier was void. As the product of a “trial court’s improper order,” Paxton argued, the marriage license was never legally valid. Paxton argued that the Supreme Court’s Thursday stay, which blocked an order by state District Judge David Wahlberg, confirmed that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage remained in effect, voiding “any same-sex marriage in Texas, no matter when or where it was entered into.” Sarah Goodfriend, left, and Suzanne Bryant were married Thursday by Rabbi Kerry Baker in Austin. Wahlberg’s ruling ordered Travis County officials to issue a marriage license to Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant, leading to their wedding Thursday morning. In addition to voiding that marriage, Paxton asked the Supreme Court to make it clear that lower courts cannot rule on the constitutionality of the state’s ban on same-sex marriages while the issue is being reviewed by the Texas and U.S. Supreme Courts.

The attorney for the couple maintains that the marriage was valid at the time it was officiated.

Texas Hate Group Has The Marriage Sadz

"The Texas Supreme Court needs to step in immediately and put a stop to this lawlessness and clear disrespect and defiance towards our marriage laws. This rogue ruling is just more evidence that supporters of redefining marriage refuse to play by the rules and some judges and clerks will do anything to advance their own agenda. This is exactly why state legislators are working on laws to hold government officials accountable when they violate our Texas marriage laws." - Texas Values head Jonathan Saenz, whose wife left him for another woman.

BREAKING: First Texas Same-Sex Marriage License Issued By Travis County Clerk, Couple Marries Immediately UPDATE: Judge's Order Only Applies To Them

Via the Austin Statesman:

Two Austin women were legally married Thursday morning after a Travis County judge ordered the county clerk to issue a marriage license. Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant, together almost 31 years, said their vows before Rabbi Kerry Baker while standing in front of the Travis County Clerk’s Office sign on Airport Boulevard. The couple was denied a license in the same office building eight years ago. On Wednesday morning, state District Judge David Wahlberg, petitioned by a lawyer for Goodfriend and Bryant, ordered Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir to grant the couple a marriage license. The ceremony was a mix of personal – with friends and their teenage daughters, Dawn and Ting, standing nearby – and public statement, with photos of their vows in front of the county sign.

More from Burnt Orange Report:

With careful consultation by County Attorney David Escamilla the legal grounds for DeBeauvoir to issue the first of its kind marriage license was set. The ceremony was conducted just outside Travis County’s main office on Airport Blvd. just after 9 a.m. It was crucial that a plan be worked out in such a way that the marriage could be validated before anyone in opposition could react or be tipped off. There is no legal way for the state to invalidate a marriage other than with the consent of individuals or by death, so this will further put the burden on the state to find a compelling interest for denying marriage, not to mention the horrible optics that come with trying to void a consensual marriage.

It appears that the judge's order may only apply to this one couple.

UPDATE: Yup, just this one couple.

UPDATE II: Freedom To Marry reacts.

This is a historic day for fairness and equality in Texas. The family that Suzanne and Sarah have built together over more than three decades of commitment to each other mirrors the love between so many same-sex couples in Texas, all of whom deserve the freedom to marry. The 5th Circuit should quickly affirm Texas’ lower court ruling and ensure the freedom to marry across the Lone Star State.